A Sinner's Eden-Chapter 165 - EVO

***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Magnus***

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much Astra or I could do about the impending engagement unless the commandeering officers called upon our skills. So I found myself polishing my gear, bored out of my mind while I listened to the latest scout reports.

The rangefinder I liberated from one of the Thich anti-air cannons was still one of my favourite toys. I had used Gilbert’s workshop to modify it when I found some spare hours, so it would be easier to handle. Still, it was never intended to be handled freely, and it was very noticeable in its design.

I did my best, but the device still looked like one of those bulky spyglasses that were occasionally shown in old documentaries and there was nothing to be done about it. Unless I decided to rebuild the entire device, which would be equivalent to making my own version, going so far would defeat its purpose as a trophy taken from the enemy.

Then all the little bits and bobs that were beginning to leave Aerie’s workshops had to be mentioned. Adapting creature cores on a semi-industrial scale instead of producing unique prototypes had taken a lot of time, things like semi-industrialized flashlights and lighters were slowly becoming available to the masses. Currently, the focus was entirely on survival gear, but I had no doubt the situation would rapidly improve once the mess with Thich was over.

Grinning, I checked out the new gyroscopic compass that was another hit with the second strata’s manufacturers.

Admittedly, most of the bulk-wares that were becoming widely available were the simplest of devices. Nonetheless, the more complicated tools leaving Gilbert’s workshop showed that regaining some of Earth’s technology using Tirnanog’s resources was possible. The wormgate was the best proof.

I pocketed the compass and turned my attention to the ongoing tactical situation.

Fleet command had decided that invading the cave system would be of no benefit to us. The main goal was to cut Thich’s fleet off from their glowmoss supply. There was no need to fight our way into an easily defensible tunnel system, when blocking the cave entrances would achieve the same effect.

We would take the necessary time to deploy Hochberg’s ground troops who were experts with quick earth-movements. They would cave-in every entrance they could find while the rest of the fleet bought the necessary time against the approaching airships.

The ideal situation would be to seal off most of the caves and then make a run for it. If the job was done well, it would likely take months to reopen the caves. Time the Thich wouldn’t have before a sizeable part of their fleet was grounded.

Alas, this wouldn’t happen since such operations took time and the Thich were expected to fight with nails and teeth. They had no other choice.

Unlike the previous time, the two fleets engaged directly this time around.

Our people had to hold position so that the ground troops wouldn’t get pounded from the air. Meanwhile, the Thich had every incentive to finish the battle quickly, for good or ill. They couldn’t give us the time to do significant damage to the caves, or we would pack up and play tag with them till their airships ran out of glowmoss.

This was the only opportunity they would get to force a straight fight with us.

I reached for the handle of my axe when the first serious reports on contact with the enemy came in.

For now, Thich’s bat-things and our drake-riders were the main combatants, but it was only a question of time until the airships would get involved.

To see it for myself, I detached the rangefinder from my belt and walked to one of the metal-grilled windows. The flagship’s architects had given some rudimentary considerations to the view, always keeping in mind that Tirnanog had its share of flying monsters which had no business on the bridge. Ṟ𝘈ɴỒＢƐŞ

Thanks to the magnification, I could see some of what was going on.

For now, there were no details visible. Just indistinct dots swarming around each other in a chaotic mess as Thich’s bat-riders tried to get close to the fleet while the drake-riders did their damnedest to intercept them. Sending the bat-riders ahead was a suicide mission, but the Thich likely hoped to soften us up before the airships clashed with each other.

A well-placed incendiary device had the potential to heavily damage or take down an airship.

I was only glad that Loopsfast wasn’t anywhere near this battle. The stupid drake was still busy with his brood and despite his antics, I liked him well enough to not wish for his demise.

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Judging by the amount of falling drakes and bats, there would be a lot to mourn no matter how this battle ended.

I kept watching as the outskirts of both fleets came in contact with each other. They were mostly comprised of the smaller vessels, but even from this distance I could tell that neither side held back.

Battles on Tirnanog were mostly fought in close quarters or with bows and crossbows. Guns were too loud and ammunition was expensive. Doubly so when it came to larger calibres. Another complication was that most of the more dangerous critters deemed a gunshot as nothing more than being poked with a needle.

Not this time around.

Both sides used their carefully stockpiled supplies of ammunition liberally.

I watched as one of our ships dissolved into pieces as it got caught in the concentrated fire of three enemy airships.

In turn, one of Thich’s vessels lost most of their ballast tanks and began rising uncontrollably, quickly followed by most of the crew abandoning the ship. Their choice was to either stay on board and find a way to get the airship under control before it was too high to breathe, or to get off. Judging by the numbers of sailors who chose the latter, I had my doubts that all of them had the necessary mutations for such a manoeuvre. It was a panic move, most of them likely hoping their starfish mutation would give them a chance at survival.

As I swung the rangefinder from ship to ship, I found similar scenes repeating themselves.

When an Aerie airship went down, it was due to extreme damage in most cases.

In turn, the Aerie wisely used the knowledge gained by studying wrecked Thich airships. After winning a major engagement and staying in control of the battlefield, we had more than enough construction examples to identify weak points in Thich's designs, such as the ballast tanks on the bottom of their airships.

Or their relatively vulnerable engine compartments.

Aerie’s strategy of targeting vital spots seemed to work for the most part. By my count, each of our ships took at least two or three of Thich’s airships out of the picture, even if they weren’t completely destroyed. Unfortunately, it also meant we were paying with one of ours.

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Given Thich’s numbers, we would lose a third or even half of our fleet if this went on.

Was this a too high price to pay?

I didn’t know, but when I glanced back to the planning table with the commanding officers, their determined expressions showed no sign that anyone considered disengaging from the enemy.

Minutes slowly turned into an hour as the methodical carnage went on.

Airships weren’t fast by any means, despite the people of Tirnanog taking the concept further than Earth ever did. And despite Thich’s determination to force the confrontation, the number of involved ships meant we had more than enough wriggle room to draw out the battle.

Unfortunately, Thich’s commanders wizened up after the first half hour of seeing their ships getting dismantled. They fought back doing their best to copy our tactics, although to a lesser degree of expertise.

The feared rockets that had dominated our first engagements with the Thich never made an appearance. The previous times there had been something demoralizing about being hammered by long range weapons without having a chance to fight back. Suffering significant losses right at the beginning of battle was never good for morale.

This wasn’t a factor this time around, and it seemed like elder Skye and Juliana Rumen took a perverse satisfaction in seeing Thich’s fleet go down one by one, regardless of whether their strata was paying the highest price to achieve this goal.

The frontline of this confrontation was a confusing mess, but the active battlefront had crept continuously closer as I observed. By now, there was no magnification necessary.

Astra joined me at the viewing window, having given up her spot at the planning table. “They are saying it is drawing to a close, but we may see some action yet.”

“Hm.” I hummed. “Good. Doesn’t feel right to see others do the fighting and dying while we watch doing nothing.”

“I hope you only want to do the fighting part. Not the dying,” Astra said.

I smirked. “Of course, the dying we can leave to our enemies.”

“Joke aside, I get what you mean.” She sighed. “Skye says we are down to between sixty and seventy percent of the fleet’s original strength. Won’t be a reason to throw a party, even if we win. He wants to take the main force into the thick of it, since we lost an entire battlegroup when they engaged Thich’s core fleet. The report says they got some pretty strong juggernaut-classed people on the other side. People who can bring down an entire airship on their own once they get inside. We can’t keep sending weaker soldiers against them and expect a different outcome.”

She sounded a little put out, so I decided to improve the mood. “Does that mean I get to throw some people over the railing? Have them walk the plank and plummet to their demise?”

Astra smacked my shoulder. “You would do well to kill them beforehand. The people we will be up against won’t be killed by something like a fall.”

“Harr!” I confirmed in a playful tone. “I will chop off their heads with my trusty axe. Let’s crush our enemies, see them driven before us, and to hear the lamentation of their women.”

Astra rolled her eyes. “I know you are citing some old movie or the like, but I have no clue what you are referring to.”

“Do not worry, dear.” I swiped out my hand before us as if I was drawing a grand picture of the future. “Once this is over, we will have all the time in the world to catch you up on culture. Did you believe I had Jakob transport that home cinema set to this world just so you could listen to music while we dance a little? No! We are going to watch all the old classics! The entire Babylon 5 series, Star Wars Episode One to Three-”

“Didn’t Thalia say there are fifteen movies?” Astra interrupted.

“Only for heretics! The other episodes were made by bumbling buffoons who tried to cash in money by trampling on the grave of a masterpiece.” I pumped a fist, showing there was no discussion in this.

“You know what?” Astra rubbed her temples. “I already feel a lot better about going to battle. You don’t have to threaten me with having to watch those old movies from the dark ages.”

“You had me watch that theatrical play about us!” I countered. “The least I can ask for is for you to spend the same time watching movies with me.”

She slumped. “I already regret it.”